For Apple’s annual investor meeting in 2023, shareholders have filed proposals at the US Securities and Exchange Commission for voting on the company’s policies on unionization, remote work, and human rights.
After Maryland, Apple employees in the Oklahoma City location voted in favor of a union. However, the company has been accused of using pressure tactics to discourage others from following suits like withholding benefits, listening” sessions, and more.
In September, the tech company began return-to-office with three days weekly work schedule but it faced pushback from employees who believe that remote work is more productive.
Apple to contest some of the proposals filed at the SEC
Financial Times reports that SEC has published three proposals filed by Apple’s investors on its website.
- Trillium Asset Management has requested the company’s board to rectify its oversight of how management had dealt with unionizing campaigns.
- SumOfUs has requested the creation of a phase-out transition plan to cease working with suppliers who are involved in forced labor from the Uyghur region.
- Two more proposals for the board to access the company’s return-to-office policy related to employee retention and competitiveness.
The SEC will decide in the coming weeks which proposals will be open for voting at Apple’s annual investor meeting in 2023.
As per the report, the tech giant is not going to contest the union petition but will challenge the other two proposals for being duplicative or as business decisions better decided by the management.
At this year’s shareholders meeting held in March, Apple’s investors went against the board’s recommendation and voted in favor of a civil-rights audit and a public report on the use of NDAs (non-disclosure agreements). They also re-elected the board members, the company’s law firm, and CEO Tim Cook’s $99 million bonus for 2021 which was opposed by Norway’s oil fund and Institutional Shareholders Services (ISS).
This shows that although shareholders’ proposals are non-binding, the tech company sometimes gives in to those demands.
